October 26
2012

Interesting. I'm not saying I disapprove of the list, but I am surprised about um, TARA, hello?! Would you have included Book, Buffy, Angel, Doyle, Darla, Spike, Cordelia, Ballard, Mellie on your list? Anyone else?

At first, I was, "Um, TARA!" Then I realized it's pretty much one from each major project, and I can understand Joyce over Tara. Just not Topher, Coulson, or Penny over Tara (Wash is a close one for me).

While tragic, I disagree that Wash's death was unnecessary. Book's death was the rallying call to the heroes on film, but Wash's death was directed squarely at the audience. If a character so beloved can be killed so brazenly by the Reavers, anyone else COULD easily die on this mission.

Multiple gun shot wounds to Jayne? Could die.
Jumping into a room full of Reavers to get a medical bag? Could die.
Reaver grabs a hold of you and wrestles you to the ground? Could die.
Uber-machete chop to the back? Could die.
Poison darts to the neck? Could die.
Gun shot to the stomach? Could Die.
Sword to the midsection? Could die.

Does Joss really get credit for Coulson's death? It was one of the events Joss was told he had to do. According to the commentary it was on a checklist given to Joss by the film backers, along with events like "Ironman and Thor must fight". Now killing Walsh was Joss's idea.

I disagree that Coulson's death was tragic. It was badass! He went out like a real hero. It's pretty easy to be heroic when you're a demi-god, a super soldier, wearing powered armor, or are a humongous rage monster. But Coulson was just a man and in facing Loki showed more character and bravery than any of the Avengers....

I agree with the list a lot, but I would have made Fred's #1. I would have included Tara's and Jenny's as well. Maybe Giles'. I like that Kitty's was mentioned. Her "death" was one of the best comic book moments I've ever read.

I am in total agreement with others that Tara's death was far more "tragic" than Joyce's was (I am also peeved that they couldn't bother to list her as Joyce instead of Buffy's mom...but anyway). I've always felt that part of why "The Body" is so moving lies in its representation of the eerie ordinariness of death, the mundane details that keep going on around us despite the cataclysm that's just happened to us emotionally. Doesn't Joss say something to that effect on the commentary about experiencing this w/ the death of a loved one in his own life? It's going to happen to us, it's a regular part of things, and we can sob and scream all we want, but life goes on. That's not tragedy to me. That's eventuality. Still very scary and, in the way Joss handles it, devastating, but not tragic.

Makes me wonder if I need an element of irony in a death for it to feel tragic. The joyous glee of watching Tara and Willow get to be happy together. "Your shirt." The opposite of what I expected. Gut punch. Tragic death.

tragedy: a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.

I liked Tara and all, but her death was an inevitability. So while the means was a bit shocking, the actual occurrence wasn't. Tara just didn't have a lot going on outside of being Willow's lover so she never felt like more than a plot device most of the time. Joyce, on the other hand, was a constant presence on the show who just seemed like she'd always be there when Buffy needed her. And then one day, she wasn't. The means wasn't shocking, but the occurrence kind of was.

Winifred is way too low on this list. It's just my opinion, but that and Joyce, and Tara were all played for maximum emotional value. Acker/Denisof still break me down every time I see that scene. I can't say the same about any others except for maybe the aftermath of The Body.

Wash is too high and Topher was sacrificial and a little more Buffy S5/Spike S7 final episode-esque. Unless we're just saying people dying qualifies as tragedy, in which case Holland Manners needs to be on that list because I loved to hate that guy.

Cordelia wouldn't count for the same reason Angel, Buffy, and SPike don't. It was a fakeout, not the end of the character. That's "mah" story and Ah'm stickin' to it.

I never really got into the Serenifly characters, and anyway saw the feature before I saw the show, but it's kind of like Larry and Anya; killing someone else off to show that it can happen and often does.

I wish I were more of an aestheic philosopher or trained critic. the fact that Willow-Tara and Wesley-Fred are arguably the most gut-wrenching relationships in the Buffyverse and that a principal actor in each are married in real life seems like it could be milked for a message of significance.

...and if the list has to include a character from each of his series, I think I have to go with Bennett over Topher's death which is more of a heroic sacrifice. After much pain and betrayal (including the loss of a limb) she finally has a spark of happiness with Topher and is brutally shot in the head in front of him. Witnessing that horrific act also begins Topher slow descent into insanity.

The Act corrupts Whiskey causing Claire Saunders to be cast out for the slime Clyde (co-founder of Rossum), delays the restoration of Caroline resulting in a trip to Rossum HQ and the loss of November, eventually destroys the mind of Topher, and kills Summer Glau.